Why packing on pounds is riskier for Indians

Packing on pounds is riskier for Indians and other South Asians than white people, says a study.

While white Caucasian people store their extra body fat in their waistlines, Indians and other South Asians carry this extra fat into their internal organs like liver and abdomen affecting their normal functioning.

It is this disruption of normal organ functions among Indians and South Asians that triggers diabetes and heart problems, says the study conducted by a young Indo-Canadian researcher.

Sonia Anand, who is professor of medicine and epidemiology at McMaster University, says that the prevalence of diabetes and coronary diseases among South Asians is due to their body adding `the organ-hugging fat` that leads to these diseases.

`South Asians have less space to store fat below the skin than white Caucasians. Their excess fat, therefore, overflows to ectopic compartments, in the abdomen and liver where it may affect function,` says Anand.